


Story Time (Is Filled With Greek Gods)

by GodlingCaptainChristina



Series: Enjoltaire Week 2016 [3]
Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Fluff, M/M, enjoltaireweek2016, exrweek2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-08
Updated: 2016-06-08
Packaged: 2018-07-13 02:20:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7134647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GodlingCaptainChristina/pseuds/GodlingCaptainChristina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Painting non-professional models is a hassle, but distracting them works marvelously.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Story Time (Is Filled With Greek Gods)

**Author's Note:**

> Late, again. I have given up on timeliness.   
> Stupid fluff, but I like it.  
> I'm on Tumblr, too, under the same name as here.

“Hold still,” Grantaire instructs. Again. He’s relayed the same command a half dozen times already, but his family seemed to think that he wouldn’t notice if they only moved a little, tiny bit. “Enjolras, you should know better.” 

Enjolras shifts uncomfortably again. Grantaire smirks. 

“I’m bored, Papa,” Anna whines. Her ADHD has been working against her rather less than Grantaire expected, but she’s been getting slowly more fidgety as the painting progressed. 

“Just a few more minutes, sweetheart,” he says. 

“Maybe a story would help,” Enjolras suggests. He less than subtly adjusts position again. “Might distract us.” 

Simultaneously, George and Anna’s faces light up. 

“Papa, please!” 

“Please, please, please! Papa!” 

Grantaire sighs dramatically, tossing his head back for a few seconds. “ _Fine_. If it will keep my squirmy family in one place, I will tell you a story.” He dips his brush back into the gold paint. “But you have to hold _still_.” He smiles softly, painting Enjolras’ wedding band with the greatest care. 

Anna stills, mostly at least. George follows her example easily. 

“Have I told you about Aphrodite and Hephaistos?” he asks. He’s sure he has at some point, but this is part of their routine. 

They shake their heads indulgently. 

“Hephaistos was the son of Hera and Zeus. Stories tell us that when he was born, Hera threw him off of Mount Olympus because of how ugly he was.” Grantaire frowns at the painting briefly before continuing. Anna was almost completely still, so it was best to focus on her for the moment. “They reconciled later in life, apparently, but Hera’s guilt was so great that she spoke with Zeus about arranging a marriage for him in apology.” He wipes his brush clean quickly, already finding the next paint he needs. “Zeus himself was concerned about the unrest on Olympus caused by Aphrodite being unmarried. She was so beautiful that it made all of the gods jealous and angry of anyone she cared for.”

“But Aphrodite won’t just marry anyone, will she?” George asks. He stays perfectly still, but he looks so concerned about this long-forgotten goddess. “She’s the goddess of love, too, so she can’t just marry anyone, right?”

Grantaire smiles. “Exactly, little dove. Aphrodite stands for love, before marriage of any sort. She enjoyed watching couples marry, but only for love.” 

Enjolras has finally stopped wiggling, listening attentively to an oft-repeated story. 

“Zeus and Hera worked in private to arrange their ceremony, not realizing that Aphrodite and Hephaistos were meeting in secret as well.” On the canvas, Anna was finally finished. Grantaire moved on to George. “When Zeus approached them about a possible marriage, to seal peace in the heavens and peace between Hera and Hephaistos, they weren’t expecting supplication.” He fills in George’s brown eyes. “Enough of the gods had spread rumors about Aphrodite being a petty and angry goddess that if she had just agreed, none of the other gods would have accepted the marriage.”

“Why not?” Anna asks. Her pout looks more like Enjolras than should be possible, being adopted. 

“Because the gods were petty,” Enjolras interrupts. “And they couldn’t stand that she wasn’t petty, as well.” 

“Exactly,” Grantaire confirms. “But, because the other gods had so much power, their expectations mattered. If Hephaistos and Aphrodite wanted to be together, they needed to pretend they didn’t want to be together.” He finishes George’s curly hair finally and moves his focus to his feet. “To convince the other gods that she was unhappy with her union, she threw the biggest tantrum in existence before their wedding. It settled the gods, to have her behave so petty and angry, and it pleased Zeus and Hera to have them married.” 

With a final flair, he put the last touches on Anna and George’s part in the painting. “All done,” he announces. 

They immediately jump up and run to him. 

“It’s so pretty!” Anna squeals. She climbs into his lap before he can pick her up. George whines quietly. “Hush,” she commands, but she reaches down and pulls him up onto her lap.

Enjolras beams at them, only hanging back long enough to take a picture on his phone. 

“What do they do now?” George asks around his thumb. 

Enjolras strokes George’s hair, smiling at them. “Love each other.”


End file.
